Bill Oddie: Everytime I close my eyes, the band starts playing

JUST imagine that you are about to nod off when suddenly a brass band starts playing somewhere in the distance. It may sound unlikely but that's exactly what comedian, broadcaster, musician and conservationist Bill Oddie has to put up with most nights.

Bill Oddie has suffered from hallucinations for more than a year (Image: GETTY)

"Often, as I close my eyes, a trumpet will start blasting," says Bill, 77, who lives with his wife Laura in Hampstead, north London.

But bizarrely the music isn't coming from a radio or from a group of nearby nocturnal performers - instead, the melodies are all in Bill's head.

Bill, who first found fame with 1970s comedy series The Goodies, has a very rare form of tinnitus called musical hallucination (MH). This is where instead of hearing the normal ringing or buzzing associated with the condition, sufferers hear music.

"The first time it happened was about a year ago," recalls Bill.

"I was working in my study at home when I suddenly heard a brass band playing somewhere in the distance - strangely though, the music was only in my right ear.

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In 2001, I was diagnosed with bipolar depression, and at my most ill, I had to spend stints in psychiatric hospitals which I found quite terrifying

Bill Oddie

"At first, I thought it must be outside but when I closed the windows, the volume stayed the same. I started moving from room to room, looking to see if there was a radio on somewhere, but there wasn't. It really was quite confounding."

According to the British Tinnitus Association (BTA), about 10 per cent of the general population experience persistent tinnitus in some form or another, with ringing, buzzing or humming occurring in one or both ears or sometimes even the head.

The cause isn't known but it does tend to affect older people more and could occur as the result of an ear infection or hearing loss. There is no cure but listening to music, reducing social isolation and sound therapy can all help.

In terms of musical hallucinations, only about one in 100 people are affected, says Professor David Baguley, who teaches hearing sciences at the University of Nottingham and is the president of the BTA.

Although the causes are largely unknown, it can develop as part of hearing loss, yet it remains a condition that not many people are aware of. After hearing the mysterious music several times, Bill admits that he became quite anxious that it was linked in some way to his mental health.

Bill Oddie with his wife Laura Beaumont at the Children In Need celebrity dinner (Image: RETNA/UK)

"In 2001, I was diagnosed with bipolar depression, and at my most ill, I had to spend stints in psychiatric hospitals which I found quite terrifying," he explains.

"But my condition had been well managed for several years, thanks to lithium, and I wasn't experiencing any of the normal warning signs."

Logically he knew that hearing music, or even voices, did not tie in with bipolar depression but he was still concerned.

"I'll confess, I was rather scared at first," he says. "There just didn't seem to be an explanation and nobody else I knew had ever heard music in their heads like that."

"This is a common fear," stresses Professor Baguley. "Many sufferers worry that something sinister is happening to them and sometimes they are reluctant to admit to the music for this very reason. But there is absolutely no link between musical hallucination and psychosis."

After repeatedly hearing big band renditions and bagpipe solos in his right ear, Bill went to see his GP and was then referred to several different audiologists, who all agreed he was suffering from musical hallucination.

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"I was told it was rare and that sufferers often hear music that they wouldn't normally enjoy," Bill continues, laughing. "That has certainly been the case with me."

Bill regularly hears big bands, a male choir and rollicking musical hits from the 1940s - and then there's the occasional bagpipe too.

"It is the sort of music that would have been popular in my infancy, but the strange thing is although I have recognised up to 60 different melodies, the soundtrack to my early childhood was very much Bing Crosby or Frank Sinatra."

The condition is certainly baffling but Bill says he has learnt to live with it. "The volume doesn't increase, nor the consistency, and although I am yet to work out what the triggers are, I know I'm far more likely to start being serenaded by a trumpet if I am on my own or it's quiet.

"For some reason the music seems more likely at bedtime or the moment when I leave the house," he says.

"The tunes can be quite intrusive and are normally something that people associate with childhood," explains Professor Baguley. "As most sufferers are older, hymns and nursery rhymes tend to be rather common and the music often starts at times when people are feeling anxious.

"But the good news is anecdotal evidence suggests that after a while, the music tends to become less intense and occurs less."

Although mystifying and at times annoying, especially when he is trying to work, Bill is determined not to become too obsessive about the unwelcome melodies he often hears.

"In some ways, I guess it's a rather jolly affliction, especially when you compare it to bipolar," adds Bill.

"Still, I want other sufferers to know that they are not going mad.

"It might be rare but hearing music playing in your head isn't necessarily something to worry about."

Bill Oddie supports the British Tinnitus Association which is holding the first Tinnitus Expo in Birmingham on Saturday September 15. It is open to the public and for information visittinnitus.org.uk/talkingtinnitus. For tinnitus support, you can contact the BTA's confidential helpline on 0800 018 0527.